Taurean Blacque, a regular on “Hill Street Blues,” died at the age of 82.

From 1981 to 1987, Blacque played Detective Neal Washington on a well-known police show.

 

Taurean Blacque, who was best known for his role on the hit 1980s NBC show “Hill Street Blues,” died Thursday at the age of 82, his son Rodney Middleton wrote on Facebook.

In his post, Middleton showed pictures of his father dressed as Washington, with the newsboy cap and toothpick smile that were typical of the character. He wrote in the caption, “Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls, and texts to me and my family. My father died at 2:52 pm est today.”

 

Blacque was one of the few regulars who stayed with the Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll series for its whole run. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1982. It was a big year for “Hill Street Blues.” Michael Conrad, Michael Warren, Bruce Weitz, and Charles Haid were all nominated for supporting roles, and Conrad won the Emmy for playing Sgt. Phil “let’s be careful out there” Esterhaus. In the same year, Daniel J. Travanti was also named Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama.

 

Herbert Middleton Jr. was born on May 10, 1940, in Newark, New Jersey. He later changed his name to Blacque to reflect both his astrological sign (Taurus) and the fact that he was Black.

 

In the mid-1970s, he started acting with the New York-based Negro Ensemble Company. He then got guest roles on TV shows like “Good Times,” “Sandford and Son,” “What’s Happening,” and “The Bob Newhart Show.”

 

He played Henry Marshall on the NBC soap opera “Generations” from 1989 to 1990. From 1996 to 1997, he played Detective Wheeler on the NBC soap opera “Savannah.”

 

After he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, he was in a number of plays at the Alliance Theatre of Atlanta. One of these was “The Amen Corner” by James Baldwin.

Some of his feature films are “Rocky II,” “DeepStar Six,” “The Hunter,” Steve McQueen’s last movie, and “Fled,” made by Kevin Hooks.

Blacque has 12 children, 18 grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.